Monday, November 29, 2010

In Flower Essences and Astrology, I shared with Radical Readers how one form of “energy medicine” can be helpful during challenging transits. On one of my many daily finger walks on Google (more like jogs), I stumbled across a different form of infusion with astrological properties—planetary teas.

Meet The Amazing Wes Brown, as he introduces himself on his website, Herbalist/Thaumaturge, and Master of Vedic Science. Let’s have tea and an interview with this creative, astrological entrepreneur.

Joyce: Wes, I’ll as the tough question first. Since The Radical Virgo is a Western astrology site and not all our readers will be familiar with the Vedic perspective, what are the major differences between them? I know there is no short answer to this question, so feel free to refer those interested to web sites or other sources that can expand their knowledge, if they want to dig deeper.

Wes: Vedic Astrology is the Astrology of India. In Sanskrit, it is called Jyotish. There are many differences between the two, so I will just name a few.

Vedic Astrology recognizes Navagrahas or nine planets which are the seven luminaries (Sun-Saturn) and the lunar nodes or shadow planets. The names, animal forms, and general significations of the zodiac signs are the same as Western but how we measure the zodiac is very different. Jyotishis use the sidereal zodiac based on fixed stars rather than the tropical zodiac of Western Astrology, which turns 1 degree every 72 years.

Perhaps the most confusing difference to the layperson is that Jyotish uses the rising sign as the “birth sign” rather than the Sun sign, which is used in Western Astrology. Jyotishis require the exact time of birth to determine what sign you are, whereas Western Astrology only needs your date of birth to determine your birth sign.

If you are curious to know more about the System’s Approach to Vedic Astrology, Professor V.K. Choudhry has a website that might be helpful linked here.

Joyce: Since Vedic or Jyotish considers only the traditional planets of Sun through Saturn, that explains why we don’t have teas for the outer planets. Still, that’s plenty of turf to tend! Tell us how they work.

Wes: On the physiological level: chemical compounds in the herbal infusions act upon the mind/body complex in various ways medicinally.

On the sensory level: the taste, aroma, and experiential qualities of the tea are designed to embody the planet that the tea represents. On the esoteric level: the herbs are selected based on their planetary ruler, ritually consecrated, and the appropriate planetary mantras are invoked. They are then bagged in unbleached hemp and wood fiber filter bags and tagged with the mathematical yantra of their patron planet, which is also colored appropriate to that planet. The desired effect is to shift the awareness a little closer to Cosmic Consciousness through the simple act of drinking tea.

Joyce: The question I’ve been dying to ask! Where did you get this fabulous idea? How did it evolve?

Wes: The idea appeared in my head during meditation one day long ago, just as did the name Planetary Teas. The knowledge came later, bit by bit, through conventional research and metaphysical channels.

I was just starting to learn about Vedic Astrology at the time and, in particular, how it could be applied to the diagnosis of physical ailments according to Ayurvedic Medicine.

I was also learning about the application of astral remedies through various material mediums such as colors, yantras, mantras, metals, and gems. Then something just clicked, “Why not herbs?” That’s when I started doing intense research and working out the formulas.

It took several years to look at the physical and metaphysical (Magical and Ayurvedic) properties of the herbs-to create blends that are potent and safe as well as delicious. My goal was to create teas that could be enjoyed on the merit of their flavor alone with the planetary remedy and medicinal benefits serving as pleasant side effects.

Joyce: There’s a section on your website called Personal-I-Tea, which explains how you make custom teas that are magic talismans for individuals. Tell us more about that.

Wes: All of our teas are talismanic in addition to being medicinal. However, most medicinal teas are designed to treat specific symptoms or particular ailments in the body. Our teas are designed to address the root cause of all suffering, which are individual karmic influences.

The Personal-I-Tea option is an in-depth analysis of the natal chart. First, we determine your rising sign based on your birth information. We then look at each planet individually to diagnose problems in life and prescribe teas and other astral remedies to address those issues.

Joyce: People have to prioritize their spending more than usual these days. Is there a way to try the teas in small volume to test how well an individual resonates to them before making a larger-scale commitment?

Wes: Part of my reason for creating Planetary Teas was to make astral remedies affordable, accessible, and practical to Western society. Traditionally, an astrologermight prescribe certain gemstones to wear or ceremonies to be performed in order to address problems found in the chart. While those recommendations are valid, for most people, they are simply out of depth either culturally or financially. I tried to do smaller sizes and free samples when I first started out but the amount of time and energy that it takes to analyze a chart and make a batch of tea is immense.

I value my work very highly and personally believe the benefits of the product to be priceless. How much should one pay to receive the blessings of Heaven and Earth? I would love to be able to just give tea away free but everything has a cost. Right now, we are offering one size: 28 bags for $22.00 (plus shipping)—a little bit expensive for tea but for an astrological remedy, it is very affordable.

My fees for astrological consultation are separate from the cost of the tea and are on a sliding scale between $30.00-$120.00 depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. Consultation is not required but I do strongly suggest my services, if you want to maximize the metaphysical benefits of the product.

Joyce: Where can we purchase them?

Wes: Well, a lot of exciting things are happening in the company right now and with change comes both opportunity and obstacles.

This month we are teaming up with Organo Gold to launch Planetary Coffee, a retail distribution outlet for coffee products containing ganoderma lucidum extract. Organo Gold products are not mine exclusively but they will be used to replace my Saturn Tea formula.

Most of the herbs attributed to Saturn (other than coffee and cocoa) are either deadly or somehow unpleasant which made Saturn Tea the most difficult for me to formulate. I was never really satisfied with the results of my efforts but Organo Gold has achieved perfection in both flavor and medicinal quality with their products and I am proud to be able to offer our brand of magical enhancement to this healthy coffee.

Our website is currently being upgraded accordingly and new orders are on hiatus until after the winter holidays. We are projected to re-launch the website and begin taking orders through it again on January 20, 2011. Soon you will also be able to purchase all of our products and services through our Facebook page as well.

To inquire about a consultation send an e-mail with your name and “consultation” in the subject line to: wesley@planetaryteas.com

Please include your date, time, and place of birth in the message if you want your natal chart cast and analyzed. If you do not know your birth information then let me know and we can discuss other possible forms of divination.

Joyce: Any closing comments or additional information you’d like to provide?

Wes: I would just like to say how grateful I am to The Radical Virgo for giving me this opportunity to share my vision and to wish all of your readers perfect health, peace of mind, and prosperity.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The importance of Chiron to outerplanetary people can hardly be overstated. Chiron is the thread that weaves together the tapestry of the outer planets as a living aggregate in our charts. Chiron is the glue that makes outerplanetary people solid and capable of handling the strong energies that they are asked to bring down to Earth day by day—first for ourselves, then for others. Chiron helps us to inspire others to enter courageously into their own encounters with Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The centaur planet's bridging influence to the outer planets is reason enough to want know your Chiron, for if you do, the outer planets and their combined meaning will simply fall into place in one grand “got it!”

Barbara Hand Clow called Chiron a rainbow bridge between the inner and outer planets. Even if it’s only a one-lane bridge, a bridge is a construct that allows us to go to and fro, to cross over something and return—to travel in both directions. Chiron doesn’t just help us amp up our resonance to handle the high frequency of the outer planets from an energetic perspective. The Chironic energy also helps us bring Uranus, Pluto and Neptune back—to slow the vibration of the outer planets and ourselves, as we return across the “rainbow bridge.” On the return trip, we bring the outers down to earth (Saturn) for practical application.

The Power of Fifty

Since my Chiron Return, I have deepened my understanding of the Chiron archetype and the possibilities of its 50-year cycle by transit through a natal chart. My great-nephew was baptized on Pentecost Sunday, the Christian celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit fifty days after Easter. I knew this was no accident for Zachary—or for Auntie Joyce. The parallels between the lives of Chiron and Jesus are legion. [1] Chiron is an earlier, Greek mythological version of a similar, archetype —a set of universal ideas rolled into one representative teacher that so many cultures venerate as the spiritual ideal.

At Zach's christening, I felt like I was living Chiron's progressed chart—the Pentecost as the 50th day after the death of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles is a metaphor for the 50th year of life and the Chiron Return. [2] As Zach was anointed with holy oil on his crown, I thought about the tongues of fire over the apostles' heads at Pentecost. The flames were a living symbol of spirit and inspiration, hovering over their crown chakras. Watching our family's new baby become initiated into his spiritual life, I saw his godparents as Chiron and his wife Chariclo, now entrusted with his God link. I was moved to tears, as I realized that by our 50th year, the descent of Spirit must be upon us—we must be aware of it, if we are to have enough time to accomplish what we came here to do.

Somehow, it all goes back to the fact of our birth and the spiritual connection baptism and Pentecost both represent. Our mission is merely to realize that we never lost that connection with All That Is when we left pure spirit for a physical body. We brought our spirits with us. In Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets, Barbara Hand Clow reviews the symbolism of the number 50 from many sources. Fifty often symbolizes attainment of a difficult task. Learning to live spiritually in a material world for half a century sure qualifies! In the end, it’s our spirits that will get us through the rest of our lives and the continuous challenge of these rapidly changing, end-beginning times. We are being asked to evolve at near light speed.

But we'll get to high-speed growth later on in this article. For now, let's slow down to focus on Chiron's meaning.

Life's Purpose

The Chiron cycle provides the underlying framework for developing our spiritual awareness and putting it to work (literally) by discovering and living our life's purpose. Of the many things Chiron represents, I want to focus on this one in this article, because Outerplantary People (PUNCs) [3] have a very special general purpose, in addition to the more specific purpose suggested by their personal placement of Chiron. That general purpose has been mentioned many times in this article series—to lead the way to global change and spiritual awakening. They go together, because the global change called for is spiritual awakening, where recognizing our living spirits in our bodies is the rule, not the exception.

But as we seek our more personal style and methods for expressing our life's purpose, there's something important to remember. Just as we often look for love in all the wrong places, we sometime dredge for years, looking for purpose in deep ruts where we'll never find it. For one thing, we tend to have lofty ideas about it—to connect purpose with a fabulous, famous, or at least highly satisfying career. This misunderstanding can cause us a lot of grief on the path to "living light."

Sometimes our purpose can be as simple as to inspire, to learn to give and receive friendship, or simply to “be there” for others. Besides, not everyone can do the sexiest, most exciting jobs. Someone has to collect the garbage or deal with the disgruntled customers at the department store return window. Chiron teaches us to find the sacred in the most mundane and never to forget that finding the spiritual in everyday life is to live in a spirited way. Finding purpose moment by moment ultimately leads to living big, as in fully.

Purpose is much more pervasive and cumulative in an incarnation. It's too big to confine to just one area of your life (career) or house in your chart. To sample the life's purpose of people you have known, think of the last funeral or memorial service you attended. The eulogy and testimonials tell the story of why that person came to Earth. You'll notice that while careers are mentioned, the qualities of character and capacity to love are the focus of this bittersweet ceremony.

The good news is that you don't have to wait to die to discover your purpose. While you may express your purpose in an interesting, influential, or high-profile career, the context doesn't matter as much as the content. We look for fulfillment, to feel we are giving our gifts in a way that matters. This releases our inner light and shines it like a beacon to everyone around us. It feels good to sit in that lighthouse. Often we have opportunities right in front of us that we overlook because they don't seem glamorous or big enough.

"We can do no big things, only small things with great love." ~ Mother Teresa

Purpose is reflected in our careers, but also in every role we play and every thing we do in life. It is an ongoing cumulation of our small deeds. Because of Chiron's strong connection to life purpose, Chiron is about being here now—living in the present, completely incarnated in this moment. The present is the present (gift). In every moment, you have the opportunity to shine your light into today's proceedings.

From a mythical standpoint, Chiron the hero maker taught us that if you work with what you have, day-to-day, honing your gifts to become true skills, when they are needed by society, you are there for the people—and the people are there for you. To live life in that fully spirited way is to become our own heroes, being our best, and trusting spirit to deliver what we need to know through our open minds in every moment, our heaven-to-earth link intact.

The Chiron Cycle

Imagine our souls have the astro-spiritual equivalent of genetic material. At birth, our soul is encoded with the pain, loss, and longing for wholeness that suits each of us best to reach total ensoulment — remembering who we are, even in physical form. This code is contained in the placement and sign of Chiron in our charts.

But before we focus on the microscopic view, let's start with the big picture. Much like the familiar lunar cycle, there are four quarters or significant turning points to Chiron's movement by transit through your chart in your lifetime.

Birth - The Starting Point

Here you receive your Chironic imprint, the circumstances into which you are born physically, culturally, racially, religiously, socio-economically, or psychologically that will work as a bio/spiritual feedback system catalyzing your inner growth. You are imprinted with it, like genetic code, and its purpose is to remind you that pain can only be transcended with the right spirit—and spirit is what you have to keep coming back to, both in and out of the body.[4]

First Chiron Square

When Chiron squares itself the first time, you will begin to have either an inkling or actual awareness of the Chironic wound and its impact on you. With Chiron's erratic orbit, this can happen anytime between ages 6 and 24, [5] so your maturity and ability to handle the message may vary widely. You might get anything from a moderate wake-up call to a devastating shock, as your pain can no longer be denied. At the base of it, this pain always, at some level, has to do with feeling disconnected. The Chironic wound in its most generic sense is the separation from spirit we feel when we incarnate.[6] Your specific wound only triggers this existing birth trauma. Mine was the stunning shock at eight years old of finding that I was adopted. [7]

Chiron Opposition

Chiron's opposition to itself will often replicate the original wound in some form, piquing awareness of the mechanism that will nag, if not force you, to grow. At my Chiron opposition, my adoptive mother — my "real" mother in the sense of bonding — died. This loss replicated the original Chironic wound and began to trigger the need to resolve the unconscious abandonment issues that contributed to a nonstop cycle of pain and suffering in my relationships.

Upper (Second) Chiron Square

When Chiron squares itself the second time, if the preceding cycles have nudged you to do your spiritual work, you'll begin to realize that you can reinterpret the crucifixions you create for yourself. You begin reframing the areas of your life impacted by the wounding, and you start using a different spiritual perspective to catalyze a new pattern for handling your chronic discomfort. You begin getting positive feedback as you change the action/reaction patterns. The wound starts to heal, and it becomes less knee-jerk.

Chiron Return

By the time Chiron returns home to its natal position, again, if you've been learning from your life’s journey, the preceding years of viewing your old wounds in a new way will have taken hold. You will be a more spiritual and spirited person—older, wiser, ready to take on the rest of your life with the assurance that divine intervention is there for you whenever you need it. You'll have found your "holes"—what's missing in your life—so you can patch them up and experience wholeness and fulfillment. (Sometimes words are so literal!) Your Chironic wound has become more of a sore spot than an open sore. It will always be there for biofeedback, but you have learned to live with it like an old war injury—and that its purpose is truly divine. This can only be good news in these days of increasing longevity. You might get to repeat the whole cycle all over again if you live to be 100!

Personal Pain and Group Benefits, Down But-Not-Out Heroes

The climax of the Chiron myth is near the end of the story, when the wise centaur offers to trade places with Prometheus, the mythological character associated with Uranus, symbolizing society or the collective. In Outerplanetary People 2, I talked about how Prometheus was punished for stealing fire from the gods. He was tied to a rock daily, where an eagle pecked at his liver—which regenerated each night for an endless cycle of suffering.

After his own years of suffering without let-up (Chiron was half-immortal so he couldn't die, but the mortal half could feel pain!), Chiron offered to trade places with Prometheus. Chiron reasoned that since he was suffering anyway, why not do it for Prometheus, and at least make something productive of his misery? Prometheus is unbound/freed, and the gods are so impressed with Chiron’s unselfish act, they free Chiron from the bonds of his immortality. He is allowed to die and ascend—to become a "star" (part of a constellation). All of this, again, is parallel to the later life of Jesus who sacrificed his own life to "die for our sins." Jesus was the sacrificial lamb, another phrase for scapegoat, upon which the sins or pains of many are offered up ritually.

We don't necessarily have to become scapegoats in the most negative sense of the word to live the message of Chiron, but his teaching is to benefit others by our pain. In fact, it’s our responsibility to do so. This is a good time to review the meaning of archetypes, since both Chiron and Jesus are variations of a similar archetypal theme. Archetype is defined as … an original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype. Archetype is derived from two Greek words meaning first molded as a pattern or exemplary.[8]

Beyond that, an archetype is a universal principle that keeps repeating itself, because it’s an expression of the human psyche that longs for fulfillment. Periodically, representatives of a specific archetype crop up to give us a booster shot of this particular human psychological imprint, especially at times when it is most needed. For most humans, suffering is inherent in change, because we fear the unknown and the disorientation and disconnection we associate with it. A planetary body was discovered and named after Chiron, so that we could rediscover his story and face these rapid-fire, turning-point times with wisdom and his tools for training heroes. What does that mean in everyday, down-to-earth terms? Chiron in your chart has to do with being heroic by being your best for the collective, but that also includes learning to overcome your pain—to make lemons out of lemonade and to give a big gulp of it to fellow travelers on hot days. Just a few modern examples of inspired wounded heroes who have made gifts of their pain to all of us include:

Christopher Reeve, Actor — Our fallen Superman, (Ch)ironically wounded in a horse riding accident, dedicated the rest of his life to raising funds and awareness about spinal cord injuries. He directed movies from his wheelchair and dealt with his quadriplegia hopefully. Chris's wife, Dana Reeve, became the new standard for women who stand by their man. She did so with grace, dignity, humility, and incredible class. More ironic that she died not long after Chris, as though they were rejoined as a mutual reward for their service to humanity by how they dealt with their suffering and shared it for the greater good.

MADD Moms, Crusaders — Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded by a small group of California women in 1980 after a 13-year-old-girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver. He had been out of jail on bail for only two days for another hit-and-run drunk driving crash and had three previous drunken driving arrests and two convictions. Because of this organization, drunk driving laws have been tightened, drinking and driving is now socially as well as legally taboo, and countless other mothers have been spared the pain of losing their children in senseless accidents involving alcohol.[9]

Itzahk Perlman, Violinist —Would you believe that this man has a physical disability, if you didn't see the crutches with your own eyes? To quote one biography: Perlman is collaborator and friend to countless young musicians, he is an invaluable ambassador for the human spirit. That he has accomplished so much with a crippling disability is a source of amazement and admiration for all who come in contact with this remarkable man. For musicians everywhere, he remains the "fiddler's fiddler".[10] (Like Chiron is the healer's healer.)

Heroes don't have to be famous. Heroes are everywhere. You know them, I know them, and if we aren't already, we have to become one of them. It's what Chiron calls for. It's can-do in spite of it spirit. It was the mythical M*A*S*H* doctors, making jokes with— and comrades out of— torn-up soldiers in Korea. It's laughing and loving each other, even in the face of what seems totally senseless. It is the Special Olympics athlete, the formerly battered wife who staffs the domestic violence shelter, and the painfully shy individual who overcomes his or her fear to become a speaker or actor in demand. It is the stuff that has spawned one of the most popular phenomena of heartwarming books ever written in the Chicken Soup for the Soulseries.

If we can be heroic and happy despite our pain, how great can our lives be, and how much might we actually accomplish, when we're not hurting? This truly is the key to heaven on earth and Chiron's bridging function between the two planets that represent them (Uranus/Heaven and Saturn/Earth).

Your Chiron: Your Special Brand of Heroism and Help

Purpose by Chiron Sign

Mythological Chiron was an amazing teacher who made heroes out of young misfits. (Talk about lemons from lemonade!) [11] As Chironic types, we bridge Saturn and Uranus through step-by-step changes that encompass the best of the old and new. This is the alternative to the extremes of authoritarianism and revolution that Saturn and Uranus represent. Given this role of "weaver," Chiron is a very creative and mitigating force—ever changing.

Consider these capsules only as starting points of possibility as you go on your own hero's quest to find Chiron's special curriculum for you. Consider house placement and aspects with other planets. In each case, the help you need is the help you need to give.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Pluto asks more of Outerplanetary People than any of the trans-Saturnians. He asks to let go and trust while everything we value is ripped away from us, often down to the barest bones: home, hearth, spouse or lover, job, family. By definition, an outerplanetary person has Pluto prominent, and this means we have a very special relationship with the issue of attachment. While non-attachment is a goal many people strive for, I think Plutonians have a different mission—to be passionately attached, yet as willing to trust that God knows what s/he's doing when it's over, whatever it is—to trust that love, home, job, and family will come again, bigger and better than ever before, no matter how long it takes. This, indeed, is a tall order from a tiny planet with the force of an atomic bomb and the same root word as plutonium.

Let's Not Pretend This Is Fun

There’s no euphemism in the world that can possibly turn this into a lightweight experience. For those of us who are practicing astrologers, I'm not sure we do our clients or ourselves any good pretending otherwise. I remember how amused I was when a fellow astrologer told me that some of her clients now call challenge the C-word, as if it were profanity. In other words, we aren't fooling them a bit when we sugarcoat what's coming. We might as well not fool ourselves, either, when Pluto is tightly woven into our astrological profile. In fact, one of the most memorable readings I ever had was many years ago, when my own astrologer gave me permission to admit just how much pain I have experienced being Plutonian.

What's the Point?

Extraordinary people have this mission for the P-part of our PUNC acronym [1] : to offer up not just our suffering to the collective but to live as glowing examples of survival—to help our fellow humans focus on the resurrection, not the crucifixion, and a few other essential elements that go with the Pluto's territory. They have to see not only what we went through, but the marvelous new model of ourselves we have become because of it.

What makes this hard, of course, is that we can't do this without exposing at least some part of our very personal agonies. No one is more private at core than the Plutonian person. Yes, this is asking a lot. But it's the deal you cut when you incarnated as a PUNC. You “came in” with an agreement to live on the leading edge with all its intense joy and sorrow.

Suffering is the flip side of joy. That which we cherish and lose we mourn deeply. Sorrow is a stopover to pay our respects at the graveside of past attachments, a step in the process of opening our hearts to greater love and opportunity. Never was it said better than in the old adage: "Better to have

loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Even loss expands the heart's capacity for feeling emotion, especially love. Often it is only in the face of real or threatened loss that we open up to accept and let in all the love around us, feelings people more willingly express when they share your Plutonian experience.

You Can't Fight It

Whatever the lesson is that your particular Pluto is insisting upon—you must let go or else. The or else is this: If you think you're suffering now, you haven't seen anything like the suffering you'll experience if you try to wrestle with Pluto to win. Pluto is like the Mafia, and there are thumbscrews, if you don't cooperate, a juice man to break your legs if you owe money, and not to forget the St. Valentine's Day massacre, where entire groups of the uncooperative were wiped in a single shooting spree. Am I exaggerating for effect? Of course, but death might seem the lesser of two evils by comparison to defying Godfather Pluto.

It's all about resistance—or not. Passion in the sexual sense is itself a dance of resistance and surrender. The friction of those two forces is what causes ecstasy. (To resist completely is to be raped.) This is a good a thing to remember, for it applies to all Plutonian dilemmas. Some degree of resistance is expected to make the process work, but you will not resist this force, so if you won't give up some of your will, you are in essence letting yourself be violated. Your choice.

You Are Powerful

Although most of us learn about power through having our own sense of power ripped off (Pluto's specialty), this is all for a purpose, like that stripping to the bare bones—to learn that power is not external but entirely an inside job. (They can evict you, leave you, beat or even kill your body, but no one—repeat no one—can get your soul unless you give it away.) We must learn not to sell our souls to the devil, no matter how powerful the outside forces appear. Hold this important thought: When you are out powered or outnumbered, they may win the battle, but don’t forget that one battle is not the war. Children mature and so do adult humans. What we cannot fight when we are young or less experienced, we can come back to resolve later on. This is why Pluto rules rebirth, resurrection, and the full life cycle. Plutonians have an issue with completion.

Understanding the Astro-Basics at Work

I find Pluto easiest to understand by considering its rulership of Scorpio and the 8th House, and how by location in a natural chart, it opposes the 2nd House, ruled by Taurus/Venus. What we value, what gives us our sense of security and self-worth, that which we build upon in the physical world is in a duel with Darth Vader. The only thing that is going to save our little asteroids (each of us as a small planet) is Yoda and our training as Jedi Knights. This is putting metaphysics where your mouth is, because physical resistance simply doesn't work. We are out powered. It takes magic to work with the power abusive, and being Plutonian helps us become magicians. It is about Sourcery, aligning with Source and All That Is—the only Real Power. Our opponent—Negative Scorpio, Pluto, and the 8th—keeps secrets, and misuses power and sexuality, those forces that used badly can devastate us in the physical, but used well, bring us all the force for good and all the magic dust we could ever use.

Abandonment

I have often quoted Australian astrologer Brian Clark's talk at UAC '92 on the 8th House, because no one has said it better. Eighth house and Plutonian issues (both are related) take us back to the original abandonment of our birth process. Mother is our first love, and from this first bonded bliss we are unceremoniously ejected from the womb by the contractions of birth. If that isn't enough, adding insult to injury, one day we wake up on the other side of the birth canal to realize she's in love with someone else (father).

From this early process on a psychological level stems the abandonment, jealousy, rage, and disempowerment that goes with the Plutonian turf. Where is Pluto in your natal chart? For example, mine is in the 4th House (conjunct Saturn, no less): I have lost every relationship that constituted meaningful roots, starting with original mother (literal abandonment by being given up for adoption). This abandonment often leads to passionate attachment in the area represented by that house (to say I am "rootsy" would be the understatement of the millennium). Jealousy and other Plutonian emotions, at their extremes, are a form of obsessive attachment. Wherever your Pluto "lives," it is here that you are being asked to let go. (For me, another concept was true. Whatever I let go came back to me willingly when the time was right for each completion.)

Negative Pluto

High Drama. Plutonians are the drama kings and queens of the zodiac, especially those with Pluto in Leo or Scorpio. We exhaust ourselves and others, our support people most of all, with our soap operas. We keep getting into impossible relationships and situations that lead to one uprooting and upsetting event after another. We decimate our lives with that same force that goes into plutonium. We are intensity junkies, and we are compulsive until we learn to catalyze the death/birth/rebirth cycle to completion.

Buying Out of the Secret. One thing that's important to know: Pluto operates in secrecy, and if you tell or uncover the secret, you end the torment or imbalance of power. This is tough to do, if you are a physically or sexually abused child, where a real big/little power imbalance exists, or if there is some other skeleton in the closet where you honestly believe that worse harm will come to you if you tell.

But as an adult, there's little reason to continue to buy into this. We are so lucky to live in the Era of the End of Secrecy of most kinds. Today, kids hear about personal boundaries and that they can trust telling teachers and other adults if they are abused in some way. In earlier eras, parents didn’t talk about such things, as if avoidance were a booster shot of immunity to their children from the darker side of life.

Those Heavy Emotions. One of the most difficult aspects of being Plutonian is dealing with its emotional load: resentment, guilt, jealousy, and rage. Being PUNCs, we often feel responsible to be positive, leading edge-role models. It's hard to incorporate these emotions into our act as evolutionary ambassadors because they are—well—so "negative."

But incorporate the darker emotions we must, and we must find and share with others positive ways of handling them. Donna Cunningham's Healing Pluto Problems is my Bible in this regard, full of exercises to banish resentment or guilt, for example, and other suggested tools such as flower essences for Pluto transits or natal issues. In fact, this most difficult task of allowing others to see that we have these emotions and ventilate them in an effective manner is one of the most important role model duties an outerplanetary person performs. It’s hard, inner work and it cannot be minimized or glossed over. In fact, it might be the hardest work the PUNC performs, because with it, s/he releases his or her power instead of suppressing it. Through this journey into our own darkness, we emerge with the gifts of the underground—healing and magic.

Positive Pluto

Magic. Magic comes from harnessing your own positive power and aligning it with All That Is. Then miracles result. Magic comes from your own inner depths, from trusting that the powers of the universe are friendly. This results from walking through darkness with no clue but your own inner light to get you to the end of the tunnel. The initiation is to align your own light with the Greater Light through dark experiences. This is why Pluto is the great teacher of coming into our own power.

Survivors. Plutonians are survivors. I believe more than anything, this is the purpose of prominent Pluto. Ultimately, we can even become navigators of those murky Plutonian waters. I had a friend whose life was Happy Days normal. He said to me, once, "You live in all the pathos, the poignancy, of the ups and downs of life. You know that when things go wrong how to work through them. You are a survivor. I've never had anything truly bad to deal with. I don't know what I'd do or if I could survive." This was my first glimmer in my twenties that there's something good to being Plutonian, an up side to all that painful work and high drama.

Rebirth and Resurrection

Going back to where Pluto sits in your natal chart, where must you be reborn and resurrected? Again revealing my own private process as PUNCs must do to help others: I had to find all my lost loves, everyone who abandoned me in my 4th House, starting with my original mother. Here's where I had to put passion to work using my Plutonian detective skills. The healing of a lifetime stemmed from my reconnection with my mother in 1986, a major man in my life in 1987 (the one who ultimately took me 26 years to get over, talk about Plutonian attachment!), and in 1996, my very first love (ages 12-14).

Not everyone's path may be as literal as mine in terms of resurrecting cut-off relationships (Pluto's surgical severance from umbilical cord onward). But whatever your own chart calls for, here is where you must have completion in order to resurrect to the core of your soul. Plutonians must regenerate in some form whatever has been severed from their lives, and Plutonian passion gives us the intensity to seek out these opportunities with a fanaticism that will not let go until it has been satisfied.

My first love turned out to be my last. No one before or since has been as right as the precocious original for either one of us. If I hadn't had the practice of two high drama finds before him, I might not have easily found my final 4th House severed relationship. (He was my foundational, root relationship in the boy/girl, man/woman sense.) After 35 years of separation, we had the opportunity to resurrect and take our love to completion. During our 12 years of marriage, our reunion has brought us healing and partnership neither of us ever thought possible. It was not only worth the wait, but worth the suffering, too. This is the magic of Pluto. This is why PUNCs have to share their success stories.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

I confess: I've had more trouble with Neptune than any other outer planet. According to my own theory in Part I of this series, that means I have a bigger obligation to share my learning with you on Neptune than all of the other PUNC planets put together. [1] Expect it to be nitty gritty and, in parts, not pretty. After all, Neptune is where we kid ourselves — and the most positive Neptunian skill we can acquire is learning to burst our own bubble.

At first, it isn't fun. I disagree with Mae West. ("Too much of a good thing is wonderful.") I have learned the hard way that a person can be too nice. Let's face it: you were most likely drawn to astrology because you want to help people and believe in our oneness in spirit. You’re compassionate and all those other nice Neptunian things.

This is what's so insidious about Neptune. "Nice" can actually be very bad for you, beyond a point. A boundary is always the point — knowing when something is too much or when have we gone too far. It's the point, beyond which we ruin our effectiveness to help others and ourselves. If Outerplanetary People are groomed to lead others into a better future, we have to become masters of dis-illusionment, especially with ourselves. (What's so hot about illusions?)

Before I can speak to the most positive potentials of the Otherworldly Planet, I really have to get my five least favorite negative Neptunian archetypes out of the way:

Negative Neptune

Problem is, every Negative Neptunian (N-Nep) needs a Positive Neptunian (P-Nep) to operate. (I'm sorry to say, every P-Nep is part sap.) Even the positive/ negative is an illusion, because P-Neps are nice to a fault. In the end, this is not a good thing.

P-Neps are so busy being nice to people, compassionate, and caring, we neglect ourselves—our need for limits, clear communication, and to respect ourselves as much as we do others. How can we help others—that thing we thrive on—if there’s nothing left to give? After awhile, this behavior is not only foolish, it drains us of the life force we already pour out too liberally to help others. It's a one-way ticket to burnout.

We all know the substance-addicted N-Nep. That one's easy to spot, even if it takes you awhile to pick up on the trend. These are the more beguiling N-Neps you'll meet, and you'll soon see why it's so important to recognize them. [2]

N-Nep # 1: Mr. Nice Guy. Mr. Nice won't own his own darkness. You sense all that underlying hostility. Soon you're the one getting angry. (It wasn't your anger to begin with). He fails to contain his rage on a nonverbal level, despite surface appearances. What he denies and won't express becomes your compulsion. Since you are also Neptunian and don't like conflict, you resent having to be the heavy.

N-Nep #2:The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. The French play by Moliere, Tartuffe, represents this archetype in the extreme: a religious fanatic gets taken in, steals a family blind, and hits on all the women. This person is insufferably nice, cleverly manipulative, and often unconscious of, or in denial about, his underground shenanigans. You feel like evil incarnate for suggesting he is really jerking you around. Who would ever believe you? Everyone tells you how wonderful so-and-so is, and you feel like the only person on the planet who really knows he's a so-and-so of another kind). Like the character in the old movie, Gaslight, you start to think you're the one who's crazy. One of the most insidious things the wolf does is to make a big deal out of how he doesn't kiss and tell, gossip, or share your secrets, whether you're having a sexual affair together or some other intrigue. This seems discreet and considerate, but it's actually a potent admonition for you to keep your own mouth shut. Eventually, it might occur to you, it's because he doesn't want you comparing notes with his other victims!

N-Nep #3: The Projection Artist. This person is often PluNeptunian, a PUNC with a lot of emphasis on the P and N. She tells you who you are (even if she barely knows you) and what you feel. Actually, she is using you as a mirror. Except for feeling fragile, you feel less like a mirror and more like her garbage can, because she has dumped a twisted, often hostile image of you onto your sensitive psyche. (This mirror is distorted--the Not-So-Fun House variety.) You trigger something she dislikes about herself, and you'll pay!

N-Nep, #4: Queen of DeNial. Everyone knows this is a feature of the addict,but there are many sober royal pains out there who will tell you some of the most ridiculous things, like "I never feel anger, I just let it go." This individual could teach Berlitz classes in metababble, using all the right astrological or metaphysical buzz words. She has no concept that one must honestly process unpleasantness, that unresolved pain and immobilizing traumas can’t be fluffed off by talking mystical nice-nice. Any time someone or some ism, ology, or ologer refuses to deal with matters at an emotional level, it is a red flag that you have entered the kingdom of the Emperor with No Clothes another character in the Court of Royal Pains.

N-Nep #5: The Intruder. This person breaks and enters into your personal psychic space, but it's so subtle, she has stolen your personal power before you can even call the cops. She's the colleague or professional who starts reading and making pronouncements about your chart without permission, crossing all kinds of lines that only rightly belong to much more intimate relationships such as close friend or therapist (or astrologer in a professional reading where this sort of deep level of interaction is stated upfront and agreed upon). She asks inappropriate, personal questions—or doesn't ask questions she should, like "Do you mind if I...” It is so under the table, even if you bust her, she'll deny any ill intent or inappropriate behavior. ("After all, we’re all astrologers...," psychics—whatever). Don't be fooled! This is clearly mind-rape, as real as if you were molested. It is breaking into your mind or chart information and using it for her own purposes. Some possibilities are to “cut” you, seduce you, or show off her predictive skills. Like most of the N-Neps, you can only detect this by the “zing” or “ick” factor. If you feel gut reactions that are painful or unpleasant, you’ve been intruded.

If you don't recognize yourself, either on the giving or receiving end of the above descriptions—this is not necessarily a good sign! We have to be ever vigilant about our own Neptunian characteristics.

Here is where we lack clarity about others and ourselves. Neptune cannot always be grasped easily. Busting yourself and your Neptune is hard work. But bust yourself, you must, because as a PUNC, you will draw these archetypes to you like a magnet and enable them—or be one without realizing it. Most awful of all, N-Neps often leave you asking, Can I trust myself?

If we can't rely on our own Neptunian skills, e.g., intuition, how can we help others or ourselves?

The Neptune in Libra Generation

The baby boomers make up a large percentage of our population, those born between 1946 and 1964 who have Neptune in Libra, the relationship sign. Wethink relationships are supposed to be nice. That's why this generation has so much difficulty with them, because real intimacy can neither be acquired nor maintained without healthy ways of expressing conflict (Aries, the opposite of Libra). We have blown anger all out of proportion. We make it “bad." (Anger isn't bad, it simply is.) Watch a couple of birds in a conflict sometime. They squawk, ruffle their feathers, and posture wildly, and when the fit is over, it's over, and they fly off on their merry way. We could learn something from them.

The fear of hurting others is often the foundation of Neptunian behavior that undoes both you and the other person. Why are we are responsible for the feelings of the entire world? (Doesn't the receiver have some responsibility if or how she takes it?) And what about our own feelings? The lack of healthy ways to express them is probably the single most evil thing on this planet. Yes. Denial of your feelings is evil. It creates a pot of seething negativity that comes out in ways that hurt others far more, in the end, than dealing with what you really think or have to say.

For me, this is why Neptune is even more difficult, at its worst, than Pluto. Even though negative Plutonians are also subterranean, there is usually no hiding their vibes. They don't cloak them in niceness. When we're so worried about hurting others, the other person isn't as fragile as we think. We are the fragile ones, unable to deal the other person or the stuff inside us we have labeled bad. The good news: If we named it, we can also call it something else.

Even if Neptune were not prominent in our charts, nice is the way the majority of the population has learned to relate, even if it's phony. We grew up believing Rock Hudson and Doris Day were the ideal couple. In fact, Rock was gay and Doris was an abused spouse. Things were not as they seemed. An entire generation is still trying to get over it: Life isn't Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, or Donna Reed. (I actually believe it's a lot better. That's the magic of dis-illusionment.)

Violence exists primarily because we don't have culturally approved ways to express or ritualize anger, so it erupts in ways that are horrible. Imagine a world where we have permission to say all that ugly stuff we feel in a protected environment, among friends, where we're encouraged to get it out and no one thinks much about it? Where our skin is tough enough that we don't mind looking at ourselves? Where we view feelings as an energy and learn not to target them so much at others (even if someone triggered them in us), but to work with them as our own creations. Express them. Not be judged for them. Be done with it. Next thing.

Examining Your Conscience/Consciousness

I have dwelled much longer in this article on the "negatives" than usual, because Neptune is where we kid ourselves. And speaking of kids and Neptune in another way, I can remember Sister Mary Stoneface making 50 squirming kids in puberty with Pluto in Leo and Chiron in Scorpio sit still for 10 minutes daily to "examine our consciences." PUNCs would do well to consider an updated, nondenominational version of this practice. The next section is a checklist to help you prepare to make a good confession to yourself and learn to burst your own bubble.

Positive Neptune – Ways to Get a Grip on Fog

1. Get over being 100% "nice." Too nice is too much. It hurts others and yourself. Chronic sweetness is phony. If we can't be a good example to our children, clients, and friends for handling conflict and avoiding mistreatment, we are perpetuating a world of doormats and violence. We can live in a world without victims. Standing up for yourself means setting down boundaries and learning these simple words of emotional ownership: "It's not OK with me when . . .” These words don't name, blame, or shame. They instruct.

2. Know your own Neptune. Look at how Neptune or Pisces influences your personal planets or angular houses. For example, if Neptune is conjunct Venus, you usually don't have a clue for a long time when it comes to love and money. This is not your most lucid area. Be aware of it, wherever that fog-zone lies in your chart

3. Find a Reality Chuck (or Charlene). Cultivate a friend you can trust who will listen to what's going on for you in the touchy areas identified in #2, preferably not someone with the same afflictions. Give them permission to be your fog lifter, to tell you the truth when you're so gooey in love or impractical about money, they bring you back to earth. Or if your Neptune aspects Mars, when you're acting too wimpy (delusional, hysterical, or irrational for Sun, Moon, and Mercury).

4. Examine your own silence. Why can't you bring out into the open what's going on, under the table, between you and another person? Be honest with yourself. Share your rationale (more like rationalization) with Chuck or Charlene (#3). I discovered that I had very clever Neptunian excuses for why I couldn't declare my feelings in man-woman relationships: I didn't want to be too forward (he's "too sensitive"); I didn't want to hurry love; I didn't want to destroy my relationship with the person on another level (e.g., colleague or healer). The truth is I didn't want to hear the truth: how he really felt about me. (As long as I didn't know, I could fantasize it my way.) Underground relationships are less risky. They are cheap thrills potent on the level of chemistry, without dealing with the real issues or truth of the other person's feelings. (Sexual feelings almost always are mutual. They keep the game going, along with the unspoken rule: Don't talk.)

5. Feelings are real and important. Don't deny them—ever. When you feel something is going on between you and another person, no matter how much he or she denies it or ignores your attempts to clarify, if those feelings persist, they are real. Continued denial on the part of the other person is crazy making behavior. Make "I" statements: "When you do this, I feel that." If you can't come to a positive resolution or clarity, consider if you need to continue having a conversation with a cloud. You have the right to choose to what, to whom, and how much you give your precious time, love, attention, and resources. When someone chronically drains you, it's a flashing neon light that says this is not a good place to put your energy.

6. Know the red flags. Reread the descriptions of the Negative Neptune archetypes in this article periodically. Anyone you know?

7. Learn the Converse Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you. Most Neptunians already do that to a fault. Instead, we have to learn the Converse Golden Rule: Do unto yourself as you do unto others. I finally learned to stop being a victim-type Neptunian by tricking myself in this way. Start with a negative, think positive, and do a little alchemy to turn it into something helpful.

Being good to others, I had down. What if I started treating myself the way I did my friends and clients? Even more dramatically, what if I considered myself as important? After all, I can't help others if I'm wrung-out. If I really valued helping others, I saw I'd have to put self-care first, not last. Over time, I became a new person by starting with what I'm good at—consideration of others—and simply applying it to myself.

8. Learn About the Psychic Realms. These include issues such as psychic cording, feeling emotions that aren't really yours, and keeping in your own energy space, which is enhanced by meditation and yoga. Keeping your psychic space also can be boosted by the use of certain visualizations and flower essences. People really can "do stuff to you" on a psychic level, if you don't know how to protect yourself. An article on the subject, which has been invaluable to me and my clients, contains a veritable cookbook of helpful hints to protect yourself from negative Neptunian influences: "How to Keep Your Intuition Without Losing Yourself," an interview with Marcy Calhoun by Dio Urmilla Neff, Yoga Journal, July-August 1986.[3] The essentials of this material are also in Marcy Calhoun’s book, Are You Really Too Sensitive? Another excellent resource that I’m just digging into myself is Cut Cords of Attachment: Heal Yourself and Others with Energy Spirituality by Rose Rosetree.

Keep Your Sense of Humor

I often call this planet Neptoon, because if you don't see some of this stuff for the Loony Toon it is, you’ll go crazy (the ultimate in Negative Neptoon!). Neptune, at its best, is spirituality, vision, and some of the most wonderful things in life. It is romance—the hunches that make us so good with people—the sensitivity that allows us to be a good friend, parent, and astrologer. Yet its downside is so tricky, we have to be ever vigilant to guard against letting what is intrinsically good become warped.

The two extremes of Neptune's down side-rose colored glasses and unconsciousness its many forms (manipulation, denial, etc.)—often co-exist in the same person. We are the people who see the world as it could be and say why not? That potential makes busting the nebulous side of our own Neptunes so important. We need to bless the world with these gifts. If we don't learn to navigate these sometimes-murky waters and bust out of the fog standing upright, collective evolution loses out on its next stars.

Speaking of busting Neptune, busting up is essential, so we don't blame ourselves and get into a negative down spiral of self-hate when we have become a sap or a victim in some form of Planet Fog. These are the times I like to think of the most exaggerated Neptoon image I can conjure up, so I feel less crazy, by comparison. Probably my all-time favorite is the ending of the British comedy, The Life of Brian. As a large group of martyrs is hanging around together at their collective crucifixion, the victims burst into the song, "Always look on the bright side of life."

When you're wondering if you're too far flung from reality, if your glasses are too rosy, think of this scene. If the cross fits, bear it. (But grin at yourself, first.)

[1] In case you are joining this series in progress, that stands for Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Chiron, and PUNC people are Plutonian, Uranian, Neptunian, and Chironic.

[2]Although I use he or she with specific archetypes, this is simply for variety. These types do not favor one gender over the other in my experience.

[3] To explore availability of reprints or back issues, visit Yoga Journal or phone (415) 591-0555.

Have you joined the New Moongram Mailing List? The monthly New Moongram complements the monthly Moonwalk feature with additional information and special offers. This month’s coupon is a $50 Chiron Reading by E-mail, an average two-page, single-spaced, typewritten and completely personalized report. Joyce will comment on how your Chiron and its house, sign and aspects fit into your chart; how your Chiron configuration may help you identify and overcome your personal stumbling blocks toward wholeness; and your vocational potentials. Sign up on the sidebar to get details, coupon, and purchase link. This offer is currently running through Dec. 4 only!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Get naked under the New Moon! Even though the Moon in this photo is Full (New Moons are almost invisible and hard to capture), the idea’s the same. The Scorpio Moon is time for emotional and physical intimacy. To see yourself, warts and all. To become comfortable with your own vulnerability.

Scorpio Moon people are not usually open to exposure in public, even in the moonlight, unless they’ve got some other more exhibitionistic signs in their chart to support such abandon. (Hi, Leos!) The compulsion to be secretive, jealous, possessive, and keep intimacies between you and one other are more what Scorpio Moon craves. People tell me you know your own dark side and suspect others of having a shadow as big as yours. Our Scorpio Moon model is not looking at her own reflection in the water. It’s hard. She’s busy trying to hide her nakedness.

Yet under Scorpio Moon, self-reflection is called for. Have you been gloating on hurts? Fantasizing vengeance? Trust and openness are difficult for natal Scorpio Moons when their feelings are hurt so easily. Like all the water signs, Scorpio Moon lives by feelings and sensations. This New Moon, it’s time for all of us to go deep sea diving in our own psyches to see what’s down there. Be sure to bring plenty of air in your tank, the air element corresponding to your mind and ideas. Take your most objective and positive thinking so that you will be able to sustain a good analysis of what you find. Later under this Moon cycle, you can decide what to do about feelings that may need some work, release, or rehabilitation.

Moonlore: Touch a silver coin when you see the New Moon. It will bring you luck.
~ Moon Wisdom by Sally Morningstar

One of the most important things to embrace, if you have a Scorpio Moon natally or are just experiencing this Scorpio New Moon with the rest of us: This Moon sign is extremely intuitive, even psychic. Suppressing this tendency can cause all kinds of physical and emotional ailments. Learning to work with your sensitivities and finding the right mentors to help you harness them for good are vital. If you’re not a Scorpio Moon native, could be this New Moon lights up your chart in just the right way. You, too, may find yourself having unusual experiences. Don’t run. Don’t hide. Get yourself to someone who knows what it’s like, someone who uses their highly sensitive skills on a regular basis. Ask your trusted friends for a referral, and if it feels right, see an intuitive, a shaman, or a dream interpreter. Many useful visions come in our sleep. Before you go to bed, ask for guidance in your dreams to make the most out of this deep, watery and truth-telling Moon.

The Dance of Dark and Light

All this talk of dark and our own reflection helps us prepare for winter. Even though this New Moon comes in the middle of autumn, the Scorpio turf of darkness and examining your interior foreshadows winter. Now that we’re past Autumn Equinox, we are in the waning time of the year. Light decreases. Dark increases. If we are living in harmony with the earth and sky, our activity levels also need to come down a notch. We need to spend more time on introspection and less on “running around.” Take this patch before Thanksgiving to practice, because as soon as the biggest part of the holiday preparation and whirlwind is over, this inner place is where you want to return and spend important spiritual growth time during winter.

Click to enlarge

This New Moon

First, I’ve decided to make our Moonwalk charts more universal and less geocentric to myself as author of these articles. Now we’ll be viewing the New Moon from a theoretical 0o Aries Rising, Equal House chart and from Greenwich, England—the central point from which we measure our worldwide time zones.

Second, while I cover the Sabian symbol in depth in the monthly Moongram to my e-mail list subscribers, it’s too important in the scheme of this New Moon not to mention it to everyone.

Scorpio 14:Telephone linemen at work installing new connections.

This month’s Sabian speaks to receiving information and networking it. All the more reason for us to tune into our psyche and psychic messages—and to learn to live by them.

An aside and personal share: I have an over-emphasized Moon in my chart including a close sextile with Chiron in Scorpio. My first spiritual teacher, Betty Bethards, used to credit her Scorpio planets as the source of her psychic gifts. While it has taken many years to develop, I am finally learning to trust my lunar information—a cumulative “arrival.” Here’s the part I want to share as my testimonial. I cannot believe how much easier my life is and how much better it works now that I listen to that inner voice with barely a second thought. It probably sounds corny and like a big metaphysical platitude, but I invite you to try it just for this Moon cycle. Tell us what happens in the Comments!

Back to the sky, you may notice that the Sun/Moon conjunction in Scorpio stands alone in a sense. The pair makes no major aspects to other planets in the chart. That fact gives this New Moon no “extra coloring” and emphasizes the direct Scorpio meanings mentioned above all the more. (If you want to add the asteroid Vesta, not shown but at 15 Scorpio, you can increase the feminine and intuitive influence. Are we having group visions yet?)

Other things in the chart are quite significant. Chiron and Neptune station and go direct within a day of the New Moon. Chiron and Neptune have been retrograde since spring, and they are also planets that symbolize the psychic and intuitive realms, as well as those of compassion and caring. Chiron’s mother, Philyra, was a sea nymph or Oceanid. The sea nymphs were very psychic, and this is Chiron’s maternal lineage. With his father as Chronos/Saturn, Chiron had the gift of bringing intuitive information down to earth for practical application—something we might all want to emulate. Mercury trine Chiron/Neptune in this chart is yet another symbol for trusting inner wisdom and our Higher Self when it taps into All That Is—easy under this Moon cycle.

As Chiron and Neptune move forward into Pisces, they will become additional symbols of the Oneness Consciousness predicted by the Mayans and others, the real way the world will end and start anew. Pluto conjunct the North Node in Capricorn in this chart continues to give us a heads-up that where we’re headed is a major tear-down and reconstruction of our institutions and the structures that no longer function well and keep us stuck.

This New Moon is no small potatoes. It invites us to align our sensory perception to the changes that are coming and to hone our inner rudder for a world where this kind of inner communication is the norm and our new way of life.

René Valenta was born in the Czech Republic and moved to the US when he was 19, not knowing he would stay here. Always fascinated by the inner human soul and motivations, René captures his observations in his art. He studies acupuncture to heal the human body, mind and soul. How to help people grow in a positive direction and bring healing to our world is what motivates him most. René is a devoted fan of The Radical Virgo and notes that with his “RV” initials, he’s obviously in the right place!

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What is a Radical Virgo?

To learn the characteristics of a Radical Virgo, read Joyce Mason’s article, “The Radical Virgo.” In a nutshell, these Virgos are not the old fussbudget stereotype—no Felix Ungers or Adrian Monks here. Radical Virgos have the potential to change the world through their ability to develop and discover their unique pattern, becoming true human beings—not “human doings.” Radical Virgos give service in a whole new way by contributing to their community and world what they were designed to give. When we each do that, we have made heaven on earth. It’s like having all the cogs in the great wheel of creation turning like they were just oiled!

You don't even have to be a Sun Virgo to have the characteristics of a Radical Virgo, though any planets in the V-sign help. You don’t join this club. You recognize that you already belong.

Radical Virgo Vision

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The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly--that is what each of us is here for. ~ Oscar Wilde

Who is "The Radical Virgo?"

Joyce Mason has Sun in the last degree of Virgo, three planets in Libra, Taurus Rising and a Capricorn Moon. She's a "PUNC," or a person with a prominence of the outer planets Pluto, Uranus, Neptune--add bridging and healing Chiron. (See her Outerplanetary People series for more on PUNCs.) Joyce is often mistaken for an Aquarius/ Sagittarius blend. Even if you don’t speak astrology, that makes sense on some symbolic level because they both end in “ius.” She believes that I and Us are one in the same—and celebrates the human spirit in which we’re all joined.

First and foremost a writer, Joyce was a consulting astrologer, tarot reader, dreamworker, and flower essence practitioner for 25 years. Her astrological specialties are the sign of Virgo and the centaur planet, Chiron. She writes on these and many other topics. Read her complete bio and astrology articles on her Writer Joyce Mason website.

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